


How to be a human being

by sameoldstory



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Fluff, Full disclosure this is unbeta-ed, I was crying the entire time while writing this, I wrote this as an outlet of my emotions, M/M, Or Jonah I guess, Please don't judge me, That big stinky bastard boy, and not good, and there's no way there are no mistakes, content warning: Elias Bouchard mention, honestly it's cringe but who cares, i guess, i know it's bad, it IS an apocalypse story so, mentions of eternal suffering and death, oh yeah this is post mag 160, one character thinks fuck one time, safehouse, so don't read this to your toddler, so this is your final warning to turn back, to cope with that season 5 trailer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:27:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23313892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sameoldstory/pseuds/sameoldstory
Summary: What happened after the season 5 trailer, as seen by the Eye
Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan Sims
Comments: 12
Kudos: 39





	How to be a human being

The Eye couldn’t look away, couldn’t roll in annoyance or close in horror. It could blink in theory, but it was mostly a dramatic thing, it was not less aware of the horrorshow before it when it did. Still it found itself blinking a lot lately, desperately wishing for a timeout.

“It's over.You've WON”, the Archivist had said in desperation but if it was honest with itself, this did Not feel like a win. Because now that they were on earth, it could not stop watching when those two absolute buffoons interacted. All that yearning and now… knock knock jokes? It had only been a few days but DAMN it needed a fucking break.

Always watching and instilling terror into the hearts of mortals was just fine, thank you very much. 

Maybe forcing the Archivist to see more horrible things would make it feel a bit better? It tried but he … it was weird but he almost seemed to like it. 

Beholding was hungry for his fear, it had developed a taste over the years but the Archivist had completely given up on himself at this point. He was numb to pain and suffering, physical or emotional (it had really tried its best but even all its knowledge of fear and its mechanics had not helped).

There were only two fears remaining in Jon: 1) making a goddamn move, for real this time and 2) Martin dying. That was the real dilemma. Killing Martin would have been easy. It could probably convince someone to take care of him or just yeet him into some void again but At What Cost. Not only would that eliminate Jons fear number 1 and 2, it would also leave it alone with its broken Archivist. And Jonah. It desperately didn’t want to be alone with that guy.

For a snack, it made Jon aware that he was looking at Martins biceps. He startled and blushed, hoping that no one, especially not Martin, had seen it. That pleased the Eye.

For a human day, nothing happened. The Eye grew … bored. The archivist was still bummed out and in a very self pitying mood and Martin was still actively trying to make him feel better. When they went to sleep, the Eye made the bed seem smaller than it was. Just to see what would happen. It did not make them afraid. How boring. Instead they woke up holding each other. The ensuing chaotic glances and stammering were kind of fun though.

A few hours later it made Jon very aware of the Martins lips, growing more and more frustrated at his quiet yearning. He had brought all of them here and for what? Self loathing and angst? Obviously there were other people too and their fear was very delicious. But the Eye and the others were all… bound to Jon since he had opened the door. His fear was the most delicious and the others had noticed too. They did, however, not know him as well as Beholding did. Fake tea, hah. They all just scared poor Martin. Especially the Lonely. But he was Beholding too and the Eye would not let him go again.

Instead it helped him find mint plants, chamomile and st. john's wort and showed him how to dry their leaves correctly. How to make them into tea. And how to grow greens like lettuce to ensure their survival. 

This did not actually help the Eye, it was just a hobby, a small project to keep Martin occupied while the Archivist lay in bed and stared at the ceiling, unblinking. It did pass some time, which was good.

After three days, the Eye showed Martin a butterfly. Bugs made humans happy, right? Especially when they weren’t Corrupted. Martin showed it to the Archivist.

“It’s kind of nice how... unaware it is of what’s happening. It just keeps going, unafraid of being watched or lonely.” Martins voice shook slightly when he said the last word, but his face was brave. The Archivist nodded a bit and even sat up. He was slightly more active when they were together and sometimes he even smiled.

The next day, Martin made tea again. From the plants the Eye had showed him, not the thing that looked like teabags. Chamomile and lavender for relaxation and good sleep. Mint for energy and against headaches. And St. John's Wort against sadness. It wasn't exactly Earl Grey but it was … something. A piece of the world falling back into place.

This time Jon got up and let Martin help him to the kitchen. He was thinner than he had been and his face was drawn and had a sick grey look to it, but the tea helped. It wasn’t medicine, obviously but it made the grey go away and it gave him a tiny spark of hope that they’d be okay. 

And after all, what is hope but the base of fear? 

That’s what Beholding told itself, pretending that this was some elaborate plan to build them up and then tear them back down into a pit of despair. But for the first time it was unsure. It did not know if its motives were what they used to be or if it was being manipulated, somehow. It almost seemed like it was changing bit by bit. The way the Archivist had changed when he had come in contact with it. 

The next day, the Archivist got up without help and surprised Martin in the garden. They sat on the porch in the sickly sunlight and leaned into each other, not really doing anything but keeping each other company. When it grew too cold and dark outside, they returned to the safe house, not yet holding hands but… almost.

The Eye stopped showing Jon everything at some point. It was not a conscious decision, it just felt right somehow, and he didn’t notice for almost two hours. It was actually pretty funny when he stopped eating, with that disgusting surprise and wonder on his face that almost made Beholding take it back. And Martin was even happier than Jon. He did not leave his side for the entire evening, ridiculously hopeful for a survivor of the literal apocalypse. 

The Lonely tried to make a move at that but the Eye did not let it into the cabin. The two belonged to it and it would not share. Besides, it had just made them both Very aware of how close they were and interruptions would only delay its very own friendly local soap opera. And it watched, pretending that making them slightly uncomfortable by watching them in a private moment was actually the plan

But when Jon finally faced his fear and moved in, and when all of their fear and sorrow and worry fell away for a moment, replaced by happiness… somehow it found itself looking away and giving them some privacy despite being allwatching.

**Author's Note:**

> I am so sorry you had to read this.


End file.
